Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers,

Glorious Day For Solar Cars Parade at Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia (credit: sunisthefuture-Susan SUn Nunamaker). It is Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015 (Adelaide time) but Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015 in some parts of the world.

The Solar Car Parade of World Solar Challenge will start at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015 (Adelaide time…although it is still Oct. 24, 2015 in some parts of the world), at Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia. It’s a glorious day for Solar Car Parade and a glorious time for Solar Energy Future!

Below is the video of the Solar Cars that came in on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. A great big applause for all of these teams, students, and supporters for their time, energy, and effort. It’s been a great learning opportunity for all of us! More will be posted and video uploaded later.

Below is the video of all of the solar cars that participated in World Solar Challenge 2015 Solar Car Parade on Oct. 25, 2015, at the Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia:

After having covered the World Solar Challenge for the third time/sixth year, I have to declare that the Dutch (from Netherlands) really know how to party and race solar cars! Not only are the first two places being occupied by the Dutch, Nuon Solar Team is coming in first this year and last time (2013).Their enthusiasm is infectious. Their energy level is uplifting. For centuries, the Dutch have had to deal with much of their endowed geographic position below the sea level. Such rigorous trials and tribulations may have contributed to their engineering prowess reflected in their design for solar cars. So goes the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” This year one person, Professor Wubbo Ockels, from the Nuon Solar Team, is conspicuously missing. After talking to the team members, I found out that Professor Ockels passed away in 2014. Professor Ockels, we hope that you are enjoying World Solar Challenge 2015 from up there, cheering and laughing with all of us. In his memory, I’d like to invite you all to view this post and visit www.happyenergy.com .

Tokai University and University of Michigan have been perennial top finishers for many years. Stanford University’s Stanford Solar Car Project, Punch Powertrain Solar Team, and GAMF Hungary have all made great strides. These teams have given much hope for all of those who participate in World Solar Challenge. As the world of solar energy technology continues to evolve, much remains to be seen for future races. For example, perovskite-based solar technology may bring huge gains to solar cells in the future. If interested, please refer to these links below for more on perovskite-based solar technology:

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In case you haven’t already heard, the solar cells were working so well that the leading solar car NUNA7 of Nuon Solar Team was speeding and ended up with a penalty of 10 minutes during the previous days. At the end of the Day4 of the World Solar Challenge 2013 (world solar car race) between Darwin and Adelaide, Australia, here is the result provided by World Solar Challenge 2013, with NUNA7 of Nuon Solar Team (Netherlands)

NUNA7 of Nuon Solar Team is in the lead by the end of Day4 (photo credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker at www.sunisthefuture.net)

leading in the first place, followed by Tokai Challenger of Tokai University (Japan)

Tokai Challenger of Tokai University (Japan) is in the second place by the end of the Day4 at World Solar Challenge 2013 (photo credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker at www.sunisthefuture.net)

and The Red Engine of Solar Team Twente (Netherlands) being in the third place by the end of the Day4 of WSC2013.

It is anticipated that the first solar car of World Solar Challenge 2013 will arrive at Hindmarsh Square of Adelaide, Australia, on Oct. 10, 2013, Day5, of the World Solar Challenge 2013.

The reason the finish point of this race is not at the Victoria Square this year is because Victoria Square is undergoing beautification and will be expected to have much change in its landscape by its completion.

~have a bright and sunny day~

gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker

Any of your comments will be welcomed below or via sunisthefuture@gmail.com (please note if you do not want your email to be shared)

NUNA 7 of Nuon Solar Team of Delft University of Technology(Netherlands), Leading By The End of First Day (Oct. 6, 2013) of the World Solar Challenge 2013 (solar car race) in Challenger Class (Credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

Below is the video of beginning of the World Solar Challenge 2013 (Oct. 6, 2013), in front of the Parliament House at Darwin, Australia.

ARROW1 of Team Arrow of Queensland University of Technology (Australia) seen on Oct. 5, 2013, after dynamic scrutineering process at Hidden Valley Motor Sports Complex at Darwin, Australia (Credit sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

ARROW1 of Team Arrow of Queensland University of Technology (Australia) at starting line on Oct. 6, 2013, in front of the Parliament House of Darwin, Australia, also in fifth place of the Challenger Class by the end of the First Day of World Solar Challenge 2013 (Credit: World Solar Challenge 2013)

PROVISIONAL RESULTS DAY 1 of World Solar Challenge 2013

Team Nuon from the Netherlands, in their solar car Nuna 7, took an early lead in the Challenger Class of the 2013 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge and at the end of day one are approximately 633 kilometres south of Darwin. Just 32 kilometres behind at the Dunmarra Control Stop there is one minute separating second placed Team Twente in ‘Red Engine’ also from the Netherlands

THE RED ENGINE of University of Twente and Saxion, University of Applied Sciences-Solar Team Twente in Second Place by the End of The First Day, Oct. 6, 2013, during World Solar Challenge 2013, Challenger Class (Crdit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

and the 2011 Champion team Tokai from Japan, who as predicted, made up time early from 20th position on the starting grid.

TOKAI CHALLENGER of Tokai University (Japan)'s Tokai University Team in third place at the End of the First Day of World Solar Challenge 2013, Challenger Class (Credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

University of Michigan Solar Car Team’s-Generation, is in fourth place by the end of the first day.

GENERATION of University of Michigan Solar Car Team in Fourth of Challenger Class by the end of The First Day (Oct. 6, 2013) of World Solar Challenge 2013 (Credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

approximately 10 kilometres out of Dunmarra with Australia’s Team Arrow showing they can mix it with the elite international field just behind in fifth place. In the Cruiser Class team Bochum from Germany

POWERCORE SUNCRUISER of Germany's University of Applied Sciences Bochum's Hochschule Bochum SolarCar Team in the first place of the Cruiser Class at World Solar Challenge 2013 by the end of the first day (Oct. 6, 2013) (Credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

is in first place approximately sixty kilometres north of Dunmarra, with team Eindhoven from the Netherlands

STELLA of Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands)'s Solar Team Eindhoven in second place for Cruiser Class by the end of the first day (Oct. 6, 2013) of World Solar Challenge 2013 (Credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

just five kilometres behind in second place, the DAEDALUS of Minnesota Solar team from the University of Minnesota (USA) in third

DAEDALUS of University of Minnesota (USA) in third place of Cruiser Class by the end of the first day of World Solar Challenge 2013 (Credit: World Solar Challenge 2013).

place and University of NSW Sunswift team in fourth place

SUNSWIFT of University NSW (Australia) in Fourth of Cruiser Class by the end of the first day of World Solar Challenge 2013 (Credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)

approximately 100 kilometres north of Dunmarra. Leading the Adventure Class was Australia’s team Aurora who have never missed a solar challenge; followed by IVE from Hong Kong and Antakari from Chile.

For more photos and videos of World Solar Challenge 2013, please refer to links below:

Sunisthefuture Online Store at Zazzle
Keep in mind that the goal here at Sun Is The Future is to speed up the transition toward renewable/solar energy, for a cleaner, healthier, economically more prosperous, and safer planet earth.

~have a bright and sunny day~

gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker

Any of your comments will be welcomed below or via sunisthefuture@gmail.com (please note if you do not want your email to be shared)

I simply cannot contain myself when I heard the news! 2013 is going to be an amazing year for the World Solar Challenge (WSC)! The CEO of the South Australian Motor Sports Board, Mark Warren, announced on World Environment Day, June 5, 2013, not only the new classes and regulations for WSC, but the largest number of entries EVER in the history of World Solar Challenge! Yes, the new WSC is set to sizzle with the record breaking 43 teams from 24 countries, preparing to take on the Aussie outback in the 3,000 kilometre journey from Darwin to Adelaide between October 6-13, 2013.

Challenger Class: The slick, single seat aerodynamic vehicles making up the ‘Challenger class’, will be contested between the mostly big budget, solar powered elite, and line honours will go to the first car to travel 3,000 kilometres in a single stage across Australia under solar power. A major difference this year, however, is that they’ll have to do it on a four wheels, not three.

Cruiser Class: This class is in deference to those teams who commit to the ideals of building a car that will never be the first across the line. Their goal is not speed but practicality. Inspired by the 2009 German entry, ‘Bo-Cruiser‘ and their successor ‘SolarWorldGT‘

which circumnavigated the globe, teams in this class will be seeking to employ advanced technology and materials to create more traditional road vehicles. The cruisers will have the option of overnight charging at select locations and will be scored according to their energy efficiency and practical design features by a panel of judges.

Adventure Class: This class targets first time entrants often with lower budgets who are still developing their solar technology and encourages participation and learning on a global stage Route Map of World Solar Challenge (3,000 km between Darwin in the Northern Territory and travels the Stuart Highway to Port Augusta and then via Highway 1 to the finish line in the City of Adelaide in South Australia, October 6-13, 2013) As we await for this inspiring event of 2013, let me share an interview with the event organizer, Mr. Chris Selwood, during World Solar Challenge 2011, about the premise behind the World Solar Challenge, below:

Winning team of World Solar Challenge 2011, Tokai University's TokaiChallenger 2 from Japan, First to arrive at Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia in Oct. of 2011 (credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, photographer)

“We threw down the gauntlet asking designers to push the limits of new technology and innovation by creating three new formalized classes. We wanted to ensure our event remained at the forefront of technology driving experienced teams and industry sponsors to exceed past results and at the same time inspire newcomers. Their response has been a resounding, bring it on!” Mr. Warren said. “We now have the makings of our most competitive field ever-in terms of time, speed, energy efficiency and innovation. All our top contenders are back to chase line honors. The changes also mean teams in both Challenger and Cruiser classes will be competing in brand new cars.” “Last year’s winners from Tokai University in Japan Tokai Challenger are looking for their third straight victory and former champions, Nuon Solar Team from the Netherlands, who had to be satisfied with second in 2011, are working furiously on Nuna 7, vowing to fight until the finish to get the gold back to Delft University. Of course, there is also the US Solar Champion Michigan team Quantum of University of Michigan still trying to best their third place result,” he said.

and I’m told first time entrants from the University of Western Sydney don’t put too much stack in history. Sunswift from the University NSW are also confident they have the aerodynamic expertise and innovative design to win in their Cruiser category although the TAFE SA team will be doing their best too.

so numbered to signify they’ve not missed an event since the Challenge began in 1987. New Queensland team, Arrow, hopes experience from seasoned campaigners will build a legacy for others to follow,” Mr. Selwood said.

There will be more posts & videos coming every week between now and World Solar Challenge 2013. Keep coming back to Sun Is The Future for more on this amazing event!

This post may had been prepared/written earlier than the day it appears, but right after the finish of the Veolia World Solar Challenge (world solar car race of twenty countries, 3021 km (1877 mi) between Darwin, Australia, to Angle Vale (official finish line) and Adelaide (ceremonial finish line), Australia, and thirty-seven solar cars) I had to fly to a location/ country where my internet access was not very convenient (it kept on being disconnected whenever I tried to write). However, I was able to load up various video clips onto youtube and I hope many of you have been enjoying these videos about the Veolia World Solar Challenge of 2011. I understand one of you from Netherland is trying to gather as much information about the race as possible. Since this is my first time covering Veolia World Solar Challenge, or WSC (and only had time and budget for the start and end of the race), I hope these photos I took and video clips I uploaded (and filmed by Mike) to youtube will help to meet part of your need. I promise you in two years (next Veolia World Solar Challenge) more detailed coverage about the scrutineering process (before the race) and events along the race will be included. Please keep in mind that the goal and focus of this World Solar Challenge is to increase greater awareness and education for our future generations in application of solar energy in cars and to stimulate greater interest in math, science, and engineering. The emphasis is both in how far and how fast (rather than just how fast) these solar cars can go using energy from the sun. As a matter of fact, part of the rule this year had actually restricted total surface area of the solar cells to 6 sq m and of which only 3 sq m can be of GaAs (gallium arsenide) so to even the playing field. Facility is available if a solar car needs to be “trailered” when insufficient sunshine is available for the duration of the race. This year, due to the extra challenges of cloudiness, rain, and bush fire, only about 7 out of 37 solar cars were able to finish the course completely using solar energy. The atmosphere at WSC is friendly and encouraging rather than fiercely competitive. One finds this to be true either in the scrutineering process (insuring safety of drivers/pilots and those around), tracking of the timing (please refer to: http://www.worldsolarchallenge.org/files/318_2011_veolia_world_solar_challenge_provisional_results_pending_protests.pdf), or in the finish presentation (ritual dip in the Victoria Fountain by all teams (those that were not too shy or too cold) at the end of the race or not so ritual “burning rubber” of the German team). Finally, I’d like to take my hat off to Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 team for being able to pull off a race of this magnitude (involving solar cars from twenty countries) with mostly volunteers working together to make this race work. Running an organization composed of mostly volunteers is not the same as running a normal company (I’ve had experience in both and believe me, running an organization composed mostly of volunteers is not easy!). So, if any of you out there with good ideas (to help improve the solar car race), funding, or time to volunteer, perhaps you’d like to contact Mr. Chris Selwood (leader and rightful owner of Veolia World Solar Challenge) and/or the organization at http://www.worldsolarchallenge.org/contact_us For the ease and convenience of our readers’ pleasures, there are written descriptions for these solar cars with each of the youtube video clip of the interviews for its team members. So please be sure to read (click on “Show more” at each youtube clip) about the descriptions for these solar cars. I tried to take photograph and to interview as many of the participating solar cars of Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 as possible, but due to time constraint, please forgive me if I missed any one. With regard to all the video interviews at youtube, if any of the interviewees’ names is either misspelled or not mentioned, please feel free to contact me at sunisthefuture@gmail.com so I can make the necessary modification. Below, you will find links to our youtube clips/interviews with various teams and photographs of these solar cars. Keep in mind that these videos and photos pertaining to Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 are under Creative Commons as long as you would attribute it/them to Sun Is The Future at http://sunisthefuture.net There will be more posts on human interest stories and lessons learned regarding Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 later.

I am interrupting (will post Day 3 & Day 4 later) to report about the winning team, Tokai Challenger 2 of Tokai University of Japan, which had just arrived at Victoria Square of Adelaide, Australia, within the last hour. The official finish line is located at Angle Vale, Australia, approximately 40 km outside of Adelaide (to avoid too much traffic lights), another brilliant decision on the part of the organizing team of Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011. So, as we waited at the Victoria Square, the ceremonial finish line, we chatted with and shared our excitement with some of the participants who have been loyal supporters of this solar car race for more than eighteen years. Despite the cloudy day with drizzle, our enthusiasm was not wavered the least bit. This is the special part of being solar participants, we/they are all full of extra dash of magical energy…perhaps a gift from the Sun…chuckle….

Here, we have a five-minute clip of interview with one of the winning drivers of Tokai Challenger 2 of Tokai University of Japan.

Even with the bush fire that they had to deal with, these winning drivers ended up averaging more than 91km/hr. They are so full of adrenaline that by the time they arrived at the Victoria Square, they did not hesitate to hop and hop

Winning Team, Tokai Challenger 2, of Veolia World Solar Challenge 2011 are so full of adrenaline that they are ready to hop

Driver/Pilot of the Winning Tokai Challenger 2

a closer look at the winning Tokai Challenger 2

Winning Driver/pilot is popping out as the crowd cheered

Upon arrival at Victoria Square, before the winning driver/pilot of Tokai Challenger 2 popped out

at the request of various reporters and of course the finale of hopping into the Victoria Fountain at Victoria Square. At the end of such a long journey through the desert of the Outback, one can fully appreciate/understand how this “Ritual Dip” got started. But on a cloudy day with a touch of drizzle such as today, we thank our winning team in continuing this tradition in showing their exhilaration, undeterred by the rain.

Tokai Challenger 2 Team Members Carried the "Ritual Dip" Further in Victoria Fountain

The Historical "Ritual Dip" into the Victoria Fountain at the End of each team's journey

We are very pleased that Tokai Challenger 2 of Tokai University (from Japan) is the winning team and are not too surprised by the outcome, for they have replaced the unique single-crystalline silicon solar cells with space grade solar cells. They have kept their winning design concept from 2009 but improved the efficiency. I read that the Tokai Challenger had a drag coefficient of 0.11 whereas University of Michigan had a drag coefficient of 0.10 Keep in mind that drag coefficient is a dimensionless quantity used to quantify drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment (be it air or water), so a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less aerodynamic or hydrodynamic drag/resistance, which would be better for a car in a car race ( or anything that moves). With a 10% difference in drag coefficient, University of Michigan should be in a more advantageous position, if solely based on drag coefficient (lower drag coefficient value). So my question here is: does Tokai Challenger 2 now has a different drag coefficient from 0.11 or are there other factors that had been more important than the 10% difference in the drag coefficient? If any of you out there who knows more about solar car race, please let me know.